Safe to De-Winterize

[gordon2]

All this talk about putting a hatch in the tank so you can clean it out makes sense.. because it is about impossible to get the tank full of chlorinated water (with no air space on top) so that the sanitizing solution is in contact with the entire tank surface, and also because some "gunk" can accumulate which is better removed by actually scrubbing it before sanitizing. And if you leave water in the tank, then know that stagnant water will develop slime and algae, and if there is even a little bacteria in the water then it will get worse.

So yes, you can safely drink the water in a properly maintained RV fresh water tank. But properly maintaining it is not as easy as some people may think. Annual sanitizing is the very bare minimum, and many times the way the tank and water is used requires more than just an annual cleaning to have safe water. Sometimes its just easier to use store-bought bottled water which goes through routine checks to make sure it is safe.

[Rzrbrn]

Gordon, you have made a very good point. Only water from a properly maintained fresh water tank is acceptable, unless you want to take a chance. But chlorine does a fairy good job, especially when you consider the water sloshes around when on the road.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Gordon, you have made a very good point. Only water from a properly maintained fresh water tank is acceptable, unless you want to take a chance. But chlorine does a fairy good job, especially when you consider the water sloshes around when on the road.

But how many people drive around with 50-100 ppm residual chlorine in their water tank? Most people leave the rig parked for the required time. And do they also sanitize their white hose? If in doubt, its safer to use water that is doubtless safe.

[ZachO]

Camper systems aside, "buying" water, in plastic jugs, seems like such a waste to me. Whoever marketed this idea was brilliant...in the evil genius sort of way.

If you don't want to drink your tap water, buy some sturdy, thick plastic jugs, and either buy yourself a water purifier for your home (will pay itself off eventually in not buying all that walmart water), or fill it at the purified water station in your grocery store. Most of them have one now.

Personally I avoid drinking my tap water and my camper fresh water. I fill the fresh water either from a house or at the spigot at the dump station, then I fill reusable 3-gallon jugs at a local spring for drinking. I do this all winter, even when I'm living in a house. Compared to Flint, or 3rd-world countries, we are very, very lucky in that we can turn on a tap anywhere and drink water that won't kill us.

But looked at in terms similar to Maslow's Hierarchy, once you have drinking water that won't instantly make you sick...then you can worry about water that won't cause chronic issues over time. Then once you have that, you can worry about getting really pure water. Which I wouldn't consider anything in walmart stored in cheap plastic to be, no matter what they tell you. But my living standards are high enough that I can be snobby like that.

My camper water system doesn't really scare me, it's just that I can't fill it with the spring water I like to drink.

[Glenn Baglo]

My water is all filtered at a brewery.

[Jon in AZ]

Your coffee must taste... interesting!

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Your coffee must taste... interesting!

Yup. Forgot about that. It comes from the fresh tank, poured through a Melita filter.

[Rzrbrn]

Sorry, double entry. I deleted this.

[ZachO]

That's the way they used to do it! Right?

People drank wine and other alcoholic drinks pretty much all the time, because the alcohol killed pathogens in the water.

That would have been a tough time for me...I guess you get used to it.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by gordon2

But how many people drive around with 50-100 ppm residual chlorine in their water tank? Most people leave the rig parked for the required time. And do they also sanitize their white hose? If in doubt, its safer to use water that is doubtless safe.

We're probably one of the few. However, we rarely drink the water from our camper. Instead we carry two gallon jugs and fill where we feel the water is potable and tasty. We do boil the water for our coffee, so it comes out of our tap. We also taste the water before it goes in our tanks. A month ago, the water at Kartchner Caverns State Park tasted terrible so none went in the tank. Yes, we travel down the road with our fresh water tank full, and we've yet to go to two parks in a row with bad water (we're cursed now!).

Enjoy,

Perry

[Mr B from BC]

i liked this thread
lots of good pointers from the experienced trailer skippers around here

[ZachO]

I also always use a camco inline filter for the hose when I fill my water tank. If nothing else, since a lot of times I'm filling with well water, it filters sediment that could clog the system or water pump over time.

[Rzrbrn]

I use a Culligan RVF-10 Exterior RV Drinking Water Filter. This is not used to pump in untreated water into the trailer fresh water tank, only water that is acceptable for human consumption. My main objective is to remove sediment to protect the water pump.

I never use the hose at the dump station to fill my fresh water tank.

[ZachO]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

I never use the hose at the dump station to fill my fresh water tank.

That's a very, very good call. I'm amazed at what I see people in line ahead of me do...

I had heard the term "frost free" when it came to water spigots for a while, but never thought too much about it. Finally at the dump station one day, a guy came over and warned me that the previous Rv'er had shoved the water hose way up his black water tank to flush it. He figured there was a chance that when he turned it off, it could have actually sucked some of the waste back down into the spigot, since, he informed me "how do you think it stays frost free?". It keeps from freezing by reversing flow once you shut it off, so there's no water left in the line.

I have my own hose, and the inline filter. I'd prefer not to fill my tank at the dump station at all, but it's my only option most times.

[elswenso89]

Well this thread has really gone off the rails.
We ended up getting a bit more of cold snap, so I've decided to hold off de-winterizing this week.
Water heater doesn't look like it has any issues, but I won't really know until I can drain my antifreeze and get water running through it again.

As far as drinking water from the fresh tank...
I used plastic jugs as a tent camper for the last 12 years, so using the fresh water tank isn't a debate for me. I'm filling up my water bottles from my sink and there is no amount of germophobia that is going to talk me out of it.

[ZachO]

Originally Posted by elswenso89

Well this thread has really gone off the rails.

If you plan on sticking around, get used to it!

Yup, everyone does what they're comfortable with. We're lucky to have very good tap in water in this country, in general.

[elswenso89]

pulled the anode today. After a good amount of calcium came a torrent of water. I am kind of blown away how much water was in there.

I’m going to order a new anode now, does this level of deterioration seem low, medium, or high?

[Glenn Baglo]

Low, say I. New ( left ). Replace ( right ).

[Rzrbrn]

What Glenn. It is supposed to corrode: It is a sacrificial device, so let it do its job, completely. On the other hand we go out for 4 to 6 months at a time, maybe longer, and I do not want to have to worry about changing it out on the road so I sometimes don't follow the advice given here....